Reduced Adjective Clauses — Rules

A reduced adjective clause begins with either a present participle or a past participle. It's simple to know which one to use: if the reduced clause is made from an active verb, start the adjective clause with the present participle, but if it's made from a passive verb, begin the adjective clause with a past participle. For example, the ordinary adjective clause in the first example:

Example 1

Example

Adjective Clause

Verb in the adjective clause

I saw a man who was carrying an umbrella.

who was carrying an umbrella

“was carrying” is active

reduces to:

Example

Reduced Adjective Clause

Participle that starts the reduced clause

I saw a man carrying an umbrella.

carrying an umbrella

carrying

We use “carrying” in the reduced clause because it comes from the active verb in the original clause.